Monsoon founder takes £14m dividend

Peter Simon, founder of womenswear retailer Monsoon, shared a £14m dividend with his family last year, according to The Sunday Times.

The dividend was Monsoon’s first dividend payout in five years, accounts filed at Companies House showed.

Monsoon, which was founded in 1972 and taken private in 2007, reported an eight-fold increase in profits and bumper international trading over the year to August 29, 2009.

The retailer saw pre-tax profits soar from £3.9m to £32.9m over the same period.

The company is understood to be looking into opening up to 1,000 stores in China over the next five years. Monsoon opened four stores in Hong Kong earlier this year and is understood to be seeking sites in China through a joint venture with a local retailer.

Primark parent company ABF’s financial director John Bason told Retail Week this week that going online was still “not a priority” and Primark would be as relevant as ever to shoppers through its reopened bricks-and-mortar stores .